Reversible decreases in the bulk elastic modulus of mature leaves of deciduous Quercus species subjected to two drought treatments

Changes in leaf water relations under water stress were examined. In experiment 1, water stress was imposed by withholding irrigation to potted seedlings of deciduous oak, Quercus crispula and Q. serrata. Changes in the pressure–volume (P–V) curve in mature leaves were followed. The leaf water potential at turgor loss (Ψ_l,tlp) significantly decreased after 13 d of drought treatment. The bulk elastic modulus (?) significantly decreased, which contributed to the maintenance of cell turgor together with the decrease in osmotic potential. In experiment 2, water stress was imposed by notching a branch of a Q. serrata tree. After the notching, the daily minimum leaf water potential (Ψ_l) decreased, and a significant decrease in Ψ_l,tlp was observed 15 d after notching. The osmotic potential at water saturation (Ψ_π,sat) did not decrease significantly until 25 d after notching whereas, ? had already decreased significantly within 15 d after notching and increased promptly after substantial precipitation. It was confirmed that ? of mature leaves decreased reversibly in water stress. This response of ? was more rapid than that of the osmotic potential and, thus, effectively maintained cell turgor when water stress was suddenly imposed on the leaves.     

Hydraulic architecture of plants of Helianthus annuus L. cv. Margot: evidence for plant segmentation in herbs

The hydraulic architecture of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. Margot) was studied in terms of the partitioning of the hydraulic conductance (Kleaf) of leaves inserted at progressively more apical nodes both in growing plants (GP) and in plants at full anthesis (mature plants, MP). Leaf conductance to water vapour (gL), leaf water potential (PsiL), leaf water potential at zero turgor (Psi tlp), and leaf osmotic potential at full turgor (pi0) were also measured. Sunflower plants showed gL and Kleaf values significantly increasing in the acropetal direction, while PsiL of basal leaves was significantly more negative than that of distal leaves; Psi tlp markedly decreased in the acropetal direction in MP so that leaves of MP retained increasingly more turgor the more apical they were. This hydraulic pattern, already present in very young plants (GP), strongly favours apical leaves. These data suggest that the progressive leaf dieback starting from the stem base, as observed when the inflorescence of sunflower reached maturity, might be due to time-dependent loss of hydraulic conductance. In fact, Kleaf loss was correlated with PsiL drop and stomatal closure. Leaf dehydration was aggravated by solute exportation from the basal towards the apical leaves, as revealed by the acropetal decrease of pi0. Kleaf was shown to be linearly and positively related to the prevailing ambient irradiance during plant growth, thus suggesting that leaf hydraulics is very sensitive to environmental conditions. It was concluded that the pronounced apical dominance of some sunflower cultivars is determined, among other factors, by plant hydraulic architecture.     

Chloroplast response to low leaf water potentials: I. Role of turgor

The effect of decreases in turgor on chloroplast activity was studied by measuring the photochemical activity of intact sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. Russian Mammoth) leaves having low water potentials. Leaf turgor, calculated from leaf water potential and osmotic potential, was found to be affected by the dilution of cell contents by water in the cell walls, when osmotic potentials were measured with a thermocouple psychrometer. After the correction of measurements of leaf osmotic potential, both the thermocouple psychrometer and a pressure chamber indicated that turgor became zero in sunflower leaves at leaf water potentials of −10 bars. Since most of the loss in photochemical activity occurred at water potentials below −10 bars, it was concluded that turgor had little effect on the photochemical activity of the leaves.     

Photosynthesis,chlorophyll fluorescence,inorganic ion and organic acid accumulations of sunflower in responses to salt and salt-alkaline mixed stress

Sunflowers were treated with mixing proportions of NaCl, Na₂SO₄, NaHCO₃, and Na₂CO₃. Effects of salt and saltalkaline mixed stress on growth, photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, and contents of inorganic ions and organic acids of sunflower were compared. The growth of sunflower decreased with increasing salinity. The contents of photosynthetic pigments did not decrease under salt stress, but their contents decreased sharply under salt-alkaline mixed stress. Net photosynthetic rates, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO₂ concentration decreased obviously, with greater reductions under salt-alkaline mixed stress than under salt one. Fluorescence parameters showed no significant differences under salt stress. However, maximal efficiency of PSII photochemistry, photochemical quenching coefficient, electron transport rate, and actual PSII efficiency significantly decreased but non-photochemical quenching increased substantially under salt-alkaline mixed stress. Under salt-alkaline mixed stress, sunflower leaves maintained a low Na⁺- and high K⁺ status; this may be an important feature of sunflower tolerance to salinity. Analysis of the mechanism of ion balance showed that K⁺ but not Na⁺ was the main inorganic cation in sunflower leaves. Our results indicated that the change in organic acid content was opposite to the change of Cl⁻, and the contribution of organic acid to total charge in sunflower leaves under both stresses decreased with increasing salinity. This may be a special adaptive response to stresses for sunflower. Sunflower under stress conditions mainly accumulated inorganic ions instead of synthesizing organic compounds to decrease cell water potential in order to save energy consumption.     

Gasometric method of water deficit measurement in leaves

A gasometric method was developed for measuring water deficit in leaves. For a leaf at full turgor the amount of water penetrating into the tissue after removing the air from intercellular spaces by means of a vacuum pump, is equal in volume to the gas removed from the intercellular spaces. In a leaf with a water deficit the amount of the infiltrating water is greater than the removed gas volume by the amount egual to the water deficit. Determination of the volumes of the gas removed and penetrating water enables water deficit, if any, to be calculated. Comparative measurements carried out on five plant species confirmed the correctness of the method suggested. Reduction of the measuring time allowed to eliminate completely the sources of errors associated with the growth of tissue and loss of dry weight during respiration.     

Leaf water relations and maintenance of gas exchange in coffee cultivars grown in drying soil

Plant water status, leaf tissue pressure-volume relationships, and photosynthetic gas exchange were monitored in five coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivars growing in drying soil in the field. There were large differences among cultivars in the rates at which leaf water potential (Ψ_L) and gas exchange activity declined when irrigation was discontinued. Pressure-volume curve analysis indicated that increased leaf water deficits in droughted plants led to reductions in bulk leaf elasticity, osmotic potential, and in the Ψ_L at which turgor loss occurred. Adjustments in Ψ_L at zero turgor were not sufficient to prevent loss or near loss of turgor in three of five cultivars at the lowest values of midday Ψ_L attained. Maintenance of protoplasmic volume was more pronounced than maintenance of turgor as soil drying progressed. Changes in assimilation and stomatal conductance were largely independent of changes in bulk leaf turgor, but were associated with changes in relative symplast volume. It is suggested that osmotic and elastic adjustment contributed to maintenance of gas exchange in droughted coffee leaves probably through their effects on symplast volume rather than turgor.     

Stomatal action directly feeds back on leaf turgor: new insights into the regulation of the plant water status from non‐invasive pressure probe measurements

Uptake of CO₂ by the leaf is associated with loss of water. Control of stomatal aperture by volume changes of guard cell pairs optimizes the efficiency of water use. Under water stress, the protein kinase OPEN STOMATA 1 (OST1) activates the guard‐cell anion release channel SLOW ANION CHANNEL‐ASSOCIATED 1 (SLAC1), and thereby triggers stomatal closure. Plants with mutated OST1 and SLAC1 are defective in guard‐cell turgor regulation. To study the effect of stomatal movement on leaf turgor using intact leaves of Arabidopsis, we used a new pressure probe to monitor transpiration and turgor pressure simultaneously and non‐invasively. This probe permits routine easy access to parameters related to water status and stomatal conductance under physiological conditions using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Long‐term leaf turgor pressure recordings over several weeks showed a drop in turgor during the day and recovery at night. Thus pressure changes directly correlated with the degree of plant transpiration. Leaf turgor of wild‐type plants responded to CO₂, light, humidity, ozone and abscisic acid (ABA) in a guard cell‐specific manner. Pressure probe measurements of mutants lacking OST1 and SLAC1 function indicated impairment in stomatal responses to light and humidity. In contrast to wild‐type plants, leaves from well‐watered ost1 plants exposed to a dry atmosphere wilted after light‐induced stomatal opening. Experiments with open stomata mutants indicated that the hydraulic conductance of leaf stomata is higher than that of the root–shoot continuum. Thus leaf turgor appears to rely to a large extent on the anion channel activity of autonomously regulated stomatal guard cells.     

Abscisic Acid accumulation in spinach leaf slices in the presence of penetrating and nonpenetrating solutes

Abscisic acid (ABA) accumulated in detached, wilted leaves of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L. cv Savoy Hybrid 612) and reached a maximum level within 3 to 4 hours. The increase in ABA over that found in detached turgid leaves was approximately 10-fold. The effects of water stress could be mimicked by the use of thin slices of spinach leaves incubated in the presence of 0.6 molar mannitol, a compound which causes plasmolysis (loss of turgor). About equal amounts of ABA were found both in the leaf slices and in detached leaves, whereas 2 to 4 times more ABA accumulated in the medium than in the slices. When spinach leaf slices were incubated with ethylene glycol, a compound which rapidly penetrates the cell membrane causing a decrease in the osmotic potential of the tissue and only transient loss of turgor, no ABA accumulated. Ethylene glycol was not inhibitory with respect to ABA accumulation. Spinach leaf slices incubated in both ethylene glycol and mannitol had ABA levels similar to those found when slices were incubated with mannitol alone. Increases similar to those found with mannitol also occurred when Aquacide III, a highly purified form of polyethylene glycol, was used. Aquacide III causes cytorrhysis, a situation similar to that found in wilted leaves. Thus, it appears that loss of turgor is essential for ABA accumulation.

When spinach leaf slices were incubated with solutes which are supposed to disturb membrane integrity (KHSO₃, 2-propanol, or KCl) no increase in ABA was observed. These data indicate that, with respect to the accumulation of ABA, mannitol caused a physical stress (loss of turgor) rather than a chemical stress (membrane damage).

     

Acclimation of leaf growth to low water potentials in sunflower

Abstract Leaf growth is one of the most sensitive of plant processes to water deficits and is frequently inhibited in field crops. Plants were acclimated for 2 weeks under a moderate soil water deficit to determine whether the sensitivity of leaf growth could be altered by sustained exposure to low water potentials. Leaf growth under these conditions was less than in the controls because expansion occurred more slowly and for less of the day than in control leaves. However, acclimated leaves were able to grow at leaf water potentials (Ψ₁) low enough to inhibit growth completely in control plants. This ability was associated with osmotic adjustment and maintenance of turgor in the acclimated leaves. Upon rewatering, the growth of acclimated leaves increased but was less than the growth of controls, despite higher concentrations of cell solute and greater turgor in the acclimated leaves than in controls. Therefore, factors other than turgor and osmotic adjustment limited the growth of acclimated leaves at high ψ₁ Four potentially controlling factors were investigated and the results showed that acclimated leaves were less extensible and required more turgor to initiate growth than control leaves. The slow growth of acclimated leaves was not due to a decrease in the water potential gradient for water uptake, although changes in the apparent hydraulic conductivity for water transport could have occurred. It was concluded that leaf growth acclimated to low ψ₁, by adjusting osmotically, and the concomitant maintenance of turgor permitted growth where none otherwise would occur. However, changes in the extensibility of the tissue and the turgor necessary to initiate growth caused generally slow growth in the acclimated leaves.     

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizae and Rhizobium on nutrient content and water relations in drought stressed alfalfa

The objective of this research was to study the effect of drought on nutrient content and leaf water status in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv Aragón) plants inoculated with a mycorrhizal fungus and/or Rhizobium compared with noninoculated ones. The four treatments were: a) plants inoculated with Glomus fasciculatum and Rhizobium meliloti 102 F51 strain, (MR); b) plants inoculated with R. meliloti only (R); c) plants with G. fasciculatum only (M); and d) noninoculated plants (N). Nonmycorrhizal plants were supplemented with phosphorus and nonnodulated ones with nitrogen to achieve similar size and nutrient content in all treatments. Plants were drought stressed using two cycles of moisture stress and recovery. The components of total leaf water potential (osmotic and pressure potentials at full turgor), percentage of apoplastic water volume and the bulk modulus of elasticity of leaf tissue were determined. Macronutrient (N, P, K, Ca, S and Mg) and micronutrient (Co, Mo, Zn, Mn, Cu, Na, Fe and B) content per plant were also measured. Leaves of N and R plants had decreased osmotic potentials and increased pressure potentials at full turgor, with no changes either in the bulk modulus of elasticity or the percentage of apoplastic water upon drought conditions. By contrast, M and MR leaves did not vary in osmotic and turgor potentials under drought stress but had increased apoplastic water volume and cell elasticity (lowering bulk modulus). Drought stress decreased nutrient content of leaves and roots of noninoculated plants. R plants showed a decrease in nutrient content of leaves but maintained some micronutrients in roots. Leaves of M plants were similar in content of nutrients to N plants. However, roots of M and MR plants had significantly lower nutrient content. Results indicate an enhancement of nutrient content in mycorrhizal alfalfa plants during drought that affected leaf water relations during drought stress.     

Water Content-Potential Relationship in Soya Bean: Changes in Component Potentials for Mature and Immature Leaves under Field Conditions

Changes in turgor and osmotic potentials of soya bean leaves(Glycine max.) with changes in water content were measured throughouta season using the pressure-volume technique. Two distinct reponsesto water loss were found. When water was expressed from leavesin the pressure chamber their osmotic behavior was describedby a concentration effect based on the osmotic volume. The osmoticfraction of the total water content averaged 0·72 and0·84 for mature and immature leaves, respectively. Thechanges in turgor pressure in the chamber were described bya volumetric modulus of elasticity which increased linearlywith turgor pressure. The changes in total potential at highturgor pressures were almost exclusively due to changes in turgordue to the high modulus (high tissue rigidity) in that range.Responses were different, however, for leaves drying in thefield. For these, the osmotic changes were always large anddominated by solute adjustment. Diurnal changes in osmotic potentialwere as much as 5 bars (500 kPa), or around 50 per cent, andwere about the same magnitude as the changes in turgor pressurefor both mature and immature leaves. The elastic modulus atthe time of sampling showed the normal turgor dependence forimmature leaves but for mature leaves the initial modulus wasapparently constant at about 180 bars. The different behaviourin the pressure bomb and the field is interpreted in terms ofa rate dependence for turgor and osmotic response to water loss.     

Osmotic Adjustment in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Leaves and Roots in Response to Water Stress

The relative magnitude of adjustment in osmotic potential (ψ_s) of water-stressed cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) leaves and roots was studied using plants raised in pots of sand and grown in a growth chamber. One and three water-stress preconditioning cycles were imposed by withholding water, and the subsequent adjustment in solute potential upon relief of the stress and complete rehydration was monitored with thermocouple psychrometers. Both leaves and roots exhibited a substantial adjustment in ψ_s in response to water stress with the former exhibiting the larger absolute adjustment. The osmotic adjustment of leaves was 0.41 megapascal compared to 0.19 megapascal in the roots. The roots, however, exhibited much larger percentage osmotic adjustments of 46 and 63% in the one and three stress cycles, respectively, compared to 22 and 40% in the leaves in similar stress cycles. The osmotically adjusted condition of leaves and roots decreased after relief of the single cycle stress to about half the initial value within 3 days, and to the well-watered control level within 6 days. In contrast, increasing the number of water-stress preconditioning cycles resulted in significant percentage osmotic adjustment still being present after 6 days in roots but not in the leaves. The decrease in ψ_s of leaves persisted longer in field-grown cotton plants compared to plants of the same age grown in the growth chamber. The advantage of decreased ψ_s in leaves and roots of water-stressed cotton plants was associated with the maintenance of turgor during periods of decreasing water potentials.     

Relationships between stomatal behavior,xylem vulnerability to cavitation and leaf water relations in two cultivars of Vitis vinifera

Current understanding of physiological mechanisms governing stomatal behavior under water stress conditions is still incomplete and controversial. It has been proposed that coordination of stomatal kinetics with xylem vulnerability to cavitation [vulnerability curve (VC)] leads to different levels of isohydry/anisohydry in different plant species/cultivars. In this study, this hypothesis is tested in Vitis vinifera cultivars displaying contrasting stomatal behavior under drought stress. The cv Montepulciano (MP, near‐isohydric) and Sangiovese (SG, anisohydric) were compared in terms of stomatal response to leaf and stem water potential, as possibly correlated to different petiole hydraulic conductivity (k_petiole) and VC, as well as to leaf water relations parameters. MP leaves showed almost complete stomatal closure at higher leaf and stem water potentials than SG leaves. Moreover, MP petioles had higher maximum k_petiole and were more vulnerable to cavitation than SG. Water potential at the turgor loss point was higher in MP than in SG. In SG, the percentage reduction of stomatal conductance (PLg_s) under water stress was almost linearly correlated with corresponding percentage loss of k_petiole (PLC), while in MP PLg_s was less influenced by PLC. Our results suggest that V. vinifera near‐isohydric and anisohydric genotypes differ in terms of xylem vulnerability to cavitation as well as in terms of k_petiole, and that the coordination of these traits leads to their different stomatal responses under water stress conditions.     

Does turgor limit growth in tall trees?

The gravitational component of water potential contributes a standing 0.01 MPa m^?1 to the xylem tension gradient in plants. In tall trees, this contribution can significantly reduce the water potential near the tree tops. The turgor of cells in buds and leaves is expected to decrease in direct proportion with leaf water potential along a height gradient unless osmotic adjustment occurs. The pressure–volume technique was used to characterize height‐dependent variation in leaf tissue water relations and shoot growth characteristics in young and old Douglas‐fir trees to determine the extent to which growth limitation with increasing height may be linked to the influence of the gravitational water potential gradient on leaf turgor. Values of leaf water potential (Ψ_l), bulk osmotic potential at full and zero turgor, and other key tissue water relations characteristics were estimated on foliage obtained at 13.5 m near the tops of young (approximately 25‐year‐old) trees and at 34.7, 44.2 and 55.6 m in the crowns of old‐growth (approximately 450‐year‐old) trees during portions of three consecutive growing seasons. The sampling periods coincided with bud swelling, expansion and maturation of new foliage. Vertical gradients of Ψ_l and pressure–volume analyses indicated that turgor decreased with increasing height, particularly during the late spring when vegetative buds began to swell. Vertical trends in branch elongation, leaf dimensions and leaf mass per area were consistent with increasing turgor limitation on shoot growth with increasing height. During the late spring (May), no osmotic adjustment to compensate for the gravitational gradient of Ψ_l was observed. By July, osmotic adjustment had occurred, but it was not sufficient to fully compensate for the vertical gradient of Ψ_l. In tall trees, the gravitational component of Ψ_l is superimposed on phenologically driven changes in leaf water relations characteristics, imposing potential constraints on turgor that may be indistinguishable from those associated with soil water deficits.     

Photosynthetic responses and proline content of mature and young leaves of sunflower plants under water deficit

In mature and young leaves of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. cv. Catissol-01) plants grown in the greenhouse, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate declined during water stress independently of leaf age and recovered after 24-h rehydration. The intercellular CO₂ concentration, chlorophyll (Chl) content, and photochemical activity were not affected by water stress. However, non-photochemical quenching increased in mature stressed leaves. Rehydration recovered the levels of non-photochemical quenching and increased the F_v/F_m in young leaves. Drought did not alter the total Chl content. However, the accumulation of proline under drought was dependent on leaf age: higher content of proline was found in young leaves. After 24 h of rehydration the content of proline returned to the same contents as in control plants.     

Characterization of a wilty sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) mutant II. Water relations, stomatal conductance, abscisic acid content in leaves and xylem sap of plants subjected to water deficiency

The response of w-1, a wilty sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)mutant, to water stress is described in comparison with thecontrol line (W-1). Detached leaves of w-1 strongly dehydratedduring the first 30 min without significant changes in leafconductance, whereas W-1 responded rapidly to water loss byreducing stomatal aperture. After 2 h stress ABA increased slightlyin w-1, while W-1 leaves showed a 20-fold increase. When waterstress was imposed to potted plants by water withholding, w-1quickly dehydrated, and lost turgor, while W-1 maintained positiveturgor values for a longer period. Wild-type plants respondedto small changes in leaf water potential by accumulating ABAand by closing stomata, whereas in the mutant significant changesin ABA content and in stomatal conductance were found only atvery low water potentials. In another experiment in which waterwas withheld under high relative humidity, when soil water contentstarted to decrease W-1 rapidly closed stomata in the absenceof any change in leaf water status and the reduction in conductancewas paralleled by a rise in xylem sap ABA concentration. Bycontrast the mutant started to accumulate ABA in the xylem sapand to close stomata when soil water content and leaf waterpotential were dramatically reduced. The low endogenous ABAlevels and the inability to synthesize the hormone rapidly eitherin the leaves or in the roots seem to be responsible for thehigh sensitivity of w-1 to water stress. Key words: ABA, Helianthus annuus L, water relations, stomatal conductance, drought, wilty mutant     

Changes in Internal Water Relations and Osmotic Properties of Leaves in Maturing Soybean Plants

The changes in the internal water relations of soybean (Glycinemax L. Merr.) leaves during vegetative and reproductive growthwere studied by following the changes in the pressure-volumecurves of soybean leaves. The results demonstrate that soybeanleaves undergo a change in their osmotic properties which coincideswith the onset of active reproductive growth and is not inducedby water stress. The observed osmotic changes resulted in anincrease in the leaf relative water content at any given bulkleaf water potential. The volume of leaf water loss needed toreduce turgor potential to zero did not change following thischange in osmotic properties. The degree of turgor maintenanceafter the change in osmotic properties depended on the abilityto maintain adequate leaf relative water content. The observedchanges in bulk osmotic potential of the soybean leaves wouldcontribute to increased leaf-soil water potential gradientsand therefore to improved ability to extract the remaining soilwater as the season progressed.     

Daily Changes in CO(2) and Water Vapor Exchange, Chlorophyll Fluorescence, and Leaf Water Relations in the Halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum during the Induction of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in Response to High NaCl Salinity

Simultaneous measurements of net CO₂ exchange, water vapor exchange, and leaf water relations were performed in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum during the development of crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in response to high NaCl salinity in the rooting medium. Determinations of chlorophyll a fluorescence were used to estimate relative changes in electron transport rate. Alterations in leaf mass per unit area, which—on a short-term basis—largely reflect changes in water content, were recorded continuously with a beta-gauge. Turgor pressure of mesophyll cells was determined with a pressure probe. As reported previously (K Winter, DJ von Willert [1972] Z Pflanzenphysiol 67: 166-170), recently expanded leaves of plants grown under nonsaline conditions showed gas-exchange characteristics of a C₃ plant. Although these plants were not exposed to any particular stress treatment, water content and turgor pressure regularly decreased toward the end of the 12 hour light periods and recovered during the following 12 hours of darkness. When the NaCl concentration of the rooting medium was raised to 400 millimolar, in increments of 100 millimolar given at the onset of the photoperiods for 4 consecutive days, leaf water content and turgor pressure decreased by as much as 30 and 60%, respectively, during the course of the photoperiods. These transient decreases probably triggered the induction of the biochemical machinery which is required for CAM to operate. After several days at 400 millimolar NaCl, when leaves showed features typical of CAM, overall turgor pressure and leaf mass per unit area had increased above the levels before onset of the salt treatment, and diurnal alterations in leaf water content were reduced. Net carbon gain during photoperiods and average intercellular CO₂ partial pressures at which net CO₂ uptake occurred, progressively decreased upon salinization. Reversible diurnal depressions in leaf conductance and net CO₂ uptake, with minima recorded in the middle of the photoperiods, preceded the occurrence of nocturnal net CO₂ uptake. During these reductions, intercellular CO₂ partial pressure and rates of photosynthetic electron transport decreased. With advancing age, leaves of plants grown under nonsaline conditions exhibited progressively greater diurnal reductions in turgor pressure and developed a low degree of CAM activity.     

Plasticity of vulnerability to leaf hydraulic dysfunction during acclimation to drought in grapevines: an osmotic‐mediated process

Previous studies have reported correlation of leaf hydraulic vulnerability with pressure–volume parameters related to cell turgor. This link has been explained on the basis of the effects of turgor on connectivity among cells and tissue structural integrity, which affect leaf water transport. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that osmotic adjustment to water stress would shift the leaf vulnerability curve toward more negative water potential (Ψ_leaf) by increasing turgor at low Ψ_leaf. We measured leaf hydraulic conductance (K_leaf), K_leaf vulnerability [50 and 80% loss of K_leaf (P₅₀ and P₈₀); |Ψ_leaf| at 50 and 80% loss of K_leaf, respectively), bulk leaf water relations, leaf gas exchange and sap flow in two Vitis vinifera cultivars (Tempranillo and Grenache), under two water treatments. We found that P₅₀, P₈₀ and maximum K_leaf decreased seasonally by more than 20% in both cultivars and watering treatments. However, K_leaf at ?2 MPa increased threefold, while osmotic potential at full turgor and turgor loss point decreased. Our results indicate that leaf resistance to hydraulic dysfunction is seasonally plastic, and this plasticity may be mediated by osmotic adjustment.     

Growth Rate and Water Relations of Citrus Leaf Flushes

Growth rates of seasonal leaf flushes of ‘Valencia’orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] were measured and waterrelations characteristics of young (new) and over-wintered (old)citrus leaves were compared. New flush leaves had lower specificleaf weights and lower midday leaf water potentials than comparablyexposed old leaves. Spring and summer flush new leaves had higherosmotic potentials than old leaves. These differences becamenon-significant as the new leaves matured. During summer conditions,water-stressed new leaves reached zero turgor and stomatal conductancealso began to decrease in them at higher leaf water potentialsthan in old leaves. Old leaves were capable of maintaining openstomata at lower leaf water potentials. Opened flowers and newflush leaves lost more water, on a dry weight basis, than flowerbuds, fruit or mature leaves. The results illustrate differencesin leaf water potential and stomatal conductance which can beattributed to the maintenance of leaf turgor by decreases inleaf osmotic potentials as leaves mature. These changes in citrusleaf water relations are especially important since water stressresulting from high water loss rates of new tissues could reduceflowering and fruit set. Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, orange, Citrus paradisi Macf., grapefruit, growth rate, leaf water relations, osmotic potential, water potential, stomatal conductance